Across the nation.

Drop In Homicide Rate Linked To Less Crack Use

October 27, 1997|By From Tribune News Services.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — At a time when many politicians and law-enforcement officials are saying their innovative police tactics are responsible for the drop in homicide rates over the past five years, a Justice Department study has found that the most important reason for the decline may be the waning of the crack cocaine epidemic.

The Justice Department report acknowledges that improved police work, along with longer prison sentences and improved emergency medical care, have contributed to the lower homicide rate. But the report suggests that the close link between crack and homicide may be a fundamental dynamic that explains why homicide rates have declined.

"What we found is that there was a very strong statistical correlation between changes in crack use in the criminal population and homicide rates," said Jeremy Travis, director of the National Institute of Justice.

The study tracked homicide rates and crack use in six cities from 1987 to 1993, using data on drug use obtained from the Justice Department's program to test newly arrested criminals for narcotics when they are brought to jail.

"In five of the six study communities," the report found, "homicide rates track quite closely with cocaine use levels among the adult male arrestee population." The report said that when homicide rates increased in the mid-1980s with the advent of the crack epidemic, "cocaine-test positive rates generally increased. Similarly, when homicide rates declined, cocaine-test positive rates also generally declined."